The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (155 page)

By winter of 2012, Guests peering over the construction fences could catch tantalizing glimpses of the
Cozy Cone Motel
. 
Imagineers
did an incredible job of translating the
Cozy Cone Motel
of
Cars
to a quintet of giant orange cone-shaped wigwams, with a motel office (alas, sealed off to the public) out front.  The
Imagineers
perfectly present all the details, big and small, from the 1950’s-era blazing neon sign that beckons Guests, to the vintage TV antennae affixed to the top of each wigwam.

The bright colors and
‘50’s kitsch draw you into the
Cozy Cone
’s compound.  There are a lot of great photo opportunities here, especially when
Lightning McQueen
or
Mater
are parked in front of the motel office for meet-and-greets.  But when you queue to order food … well, that’s when the cozy feeling of good will starts to melt away.

Each of the five cones sells a
different
snack item and a
different
beverage (although all sell sodas and water for about $3).  That means that each person in your party might end up ordering at a different cone.  It also means that Guests might have to order their snack at one cone, and then get back in line to order their preferred beverage at a different cone.

That’s an awful lot of different lines, and an awful lot of time spent in lines.  Aggravating this design flaw is the fact that the posted menus, in rather hard-to-read fonts and colors, cannot be clearly read until you are at the window, making it even more difficult to decide which cone is selling what, and who should queue where.  This inconvenience and confusion raises blood pressure for the grown-ups in your group.

Add to that the typically slow service, resulting in needlessly long lines.  Each cone is only vending one or two snack items and a specialty beverage.  So each cone
should
have a flawless assembly line system.  Especially because Guests will likely have to wait in multiple lines to get everything they want at the
Cozy Cone Motel
, rapid order fulfillment should be a Cast Member priority.  Items should be flying out of the cones at top speed.

Instead, Cast Members often
seem to sleep-walk through the preparation of standard items as if they’re dealing with custom orders.  To their credit, Cast Members are usually very pleasant.  They seem to be unaware that their slow pace is causing delays and stress for hungry and thirsty Guests.  This is a failure of deployment or training, apparently.  Leads and management have not placed fast-paced, efficient CMs in the cones, by and large, and/or they have not trained the CMs to fulfill orders quickly.  Additionally, there might be equipment or work station design issues that are slowing food and beverage prep and delivery.

Not to belabor the issue, but given how famous
Disney
is for its efficiency and customer service, the problems at the
Cozy Cone Motel
–and all of
Cars Land
’s food venues– are noticeable, and should be addressed by 2014.

Imagine that you want churro bites, your spouse wants an ice cream cone, your sister wants popcorn, and your uncle is ready for a splash of vodka.  That means you are each getting into a separate line.  Now imagine you have kids in tow–and each of them wants something different.  Who’s taking which kid to which cone?  And will you then have to get into another line to get the snack
you
want?  And, of course, each person might want a beverage sold at a cone different than the cone that vends their snack–so you’re getting into even more lines.  It’s like an algebra exercise.

Add to that the dearth of seating, and Guests are often less than happy once they have their food and drink.  The few tables available under cone-shaped coverings are cute, but insufficient. 
Using the napkin, straw, and condiment station is awkward, as well; you can’t set down your cones of food while you grab utensils and napkins, because the cones—being cone-shaped—will tip over and spill your meal.  Eventually, Guests end up wandering about
Cars Land
rather like cranky nomads, trying to find somewhere everyone can sit or lean while they eat.

Everyone had the best of intentions for every element of
Cars Land
.  I suspect that the
Cozy Cone Motel
plan sounded great on paper–
Different snacks in each cone?  How fun!  Food served in cones?  Neato-keen!
–But apparently extensive Guest-perspective walk-throughs of what the experience would be like for Guests were not conducted or did not yield the right lessons.

One possible partial solution
for the
Cozy Cone Motel
might be to start selling
all
products, prepared in a central backstage kitchen, at each cone.

The food, once you receive it, is quite good.  One chef planned the menus for the entire land, so there’s a single
creative imagination at work.  The scrambled eggs in the breakfast cones are divinely gooey with butter and cheese.  The pomegranate-lime drink is a poem; Guests who are of age can purchase it with vodka, but it has a zippy zing even without spirits.  The flavored popcorn is tasty, as are the ice cream cones, and the ice cream has the added benefit of being reasonably priced.

For your planning, here are t
he menus and present prices, cone by cone.  Note that prices are likely to rise slightly during 2014.  All meals are served in a bread cone or cone-shaped container:

Cone 1 – Churros

Churro B
ites
(with cinnamon-spiced chocolate sauce) are $5. 
Ramone’s Pear of Dice Soda
is $3.29.  Coffee or cocoa is $2.79.  Add $6 - $9 for
souvenir sippers
.

Cone 2 – Ice Cream

Vanilla, chocolate
, or twist
soft-serve cones
cost $3.49 for a regular and $3.99 for a large.  Add chocolate dip for 50 cents.  A
“Route” Beer Float
in a souvenir container is $9.59.

Cone 3 – Chili and Chicken

Chili Cone Queso (Beef or Vegetarian)
or
Chicken Verde
for $7 each. 
Fillmore’s Fuelin’ Groovy Lemonade
or
Pomegranate Limeade
about $4 each.  Add vodka to the
Pomegranate Limeade
and pay $7.50.  Breakfast is also available at this cone only: 
Bacon Scramble Cone
or
Verde Scramble Cone
for $6.49, and standard beverages (water, sodas, coffee, cocoa) for about $3.

Cone 4 – Pretzels

Pretzel Bites
(with cheese sauce) are $5. 
Red’s Apple Freeze
(a Guest favorite) is $4.69.

Cone 5 – Popcorn

Flavors vary by day and include
Bacon and Cheddar
,
Nacho Cheese
,
Pickle
,
Salt-and-Vinegar
, and
Sweet-and-Spicy
.  Popcorn is $4.69 per scoop, or $12.49 if you purchase it in a
Lightning McQueen souvenir bucket
. 
Doc’s Wild Grape Tonic
is around $4.

On the whole, the
Cozy Cone Motel
is recommended as a pretty, nostalgic locale to experience, to behold, to photograph.  As a snack spot … not so much, unless you visit early and the lines look short.
Did You Know?
 
Cars
character
Sally
was voiced by actress/comedienne/talk-show host
Bonnie Hunt
. 
Did You Also Know?
  Want to visit a
real
Wigwam Motel?  You’ll find one at 2728 West Foothill Boulevard, San Bernardino, CA  92410.  Call (909) 875-3005 for more information or visit
www.wigwammotel.com
.
Did You Also Know?
  As part of
Disneyland
’s 2013
Limited Time Magic
program, a special hat shaped like one of the
Cozy Cones
was designed, and was sold in resort stores.  Those kooky cone hats are blazing orange, adorned with
Cozy Cone Motel
images.  Only at
the happiest place on earth
can you stroll about wearing a bright orange traffic cone on your head! 
Disneyland
fashion–love it!
Night Vision:
  The
Cozy Cone Motel
’s neon sign is striking when darkness falls.  You
cannot
take bad photos of this location, day or night.

Filmore’s Taste-In
(S)

[
FastView:
 
A groovy selection of healthy fruits, vegetables, beverages, and snacks.  Look for the psychedelic dome.
]

In recent years,
Disneyland Resort
has made a conscious effort to offer healthier food to Guests.  Part of that means ensuring that every land at
Disneyland Park
and
DCA Park
has a cart or shop selling fruits, veggies, and healthy beverages.

Where to put a healthy food stand i
n
Cars Land
? The healthy snack stop is
Fillmore’s Taste-In
.  Given
Fillmore
’s commitment to natural nourishment, his shop is the clear choice!  Here, in the shadow of
Fillmore
’s groovy geodesic dome, Guests purchase whole fruits like apples and bananas, as well as trail mix, grapes, apple slices, hummus, water, power drinks, and other healthy treats, as well as chips.  Expect to pay about $2 for whole fruit, $3 to $4 for sliced fruit and veggie treats, and $2 to $4.50 for each beverage, depending on whether you want a simple juice box or a fancy “smart” drink.

Fillmore
, a VW van painted with classic 1960’s-1970’s psychadelic floral patterns, is
Radiator Springs
’ resident hippie.  Voiced by stand-up comic and philosopher
George Carlin
in
Disney-Pixar
’s
Cars
(2006),
Fillmore
loves classic rock music (Jimi Hendrix, anyone?) and sells only organic fuel.  In fact, it was
Fillmore
’s fuel that saved the day in
Cars 2
, when
Sarge
used it to replace
Lightning
’s unsafe
Allinol
.  If
Fillmore
were selling “fuel” to humans, it would make sense for him to sell the healthy items at his
Cars Land Taste-In
.

Some Guests were disappointed to find that in
Cars Land
,
Fillmore
’s dome is off-limits to Guests.  The dome has a definite hippie chic–especially at night, when its surface crawls with a psychedelic lights–but the interior is mundane: 
Backstage
storage.  A colorful beaded curtain (now made of safer, wooden beads) screens the
backstage
entrance door.  If you or your tots are craving fruits, veggies, and smart drinks, tune in
and
drop in to
Fillmore’s Taste-in
on
Radiator Springs
’ main drag! 
Did You Know?
  Although
Fillmore
appears in
Cars 2
(2011), he is voiced by
Lloyd Sherr
, not
George Carlin
;
Carlin
had passed away in 2008.
Fillmore
’s license plate is
George Carlin
’s birthday:  51237.
Did You Also Know?
 
Fillmore
is named for the Fillmore East in Manhattan’s East Village, where rock virtuosos–including the Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and John Lennon–appeared during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. 
Did You Also Know?
  Geodesic domes are structures in which intersecting circles distribute stress to create a light but extremely sturdy skeleton on which a surface can be overlayed.  R. Buckminster Fuller named and refined the concept of this type of dome.  The domes were popular at expos and fairs in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, and Fuller hoped they’d catch on as residences.  On the one hand, they were considered futuristic in their day–
Epcot
’s
Spaceship Earth
is a massive geodesic sphere.  On the other hand, geodesic structures caught the imagination of hippies and mystical thinkers as being, somehow, symbolic of a unified, humane, ecologically sound earth.   
Did You Also Know?
 
Fillmore
brakes for the mythical
jackalope
.  (Really.  Check his bumper sticker.)